i try to picture me without you but i can't
by katanafleet
Summary: Normally, Emma picked up the phone immediately with either a bored "what?" or a concerned "what is it?" or that one memorable time with a growl-like sound and a slightly unnerving noise that made Snow pretty sure that Killian was there too. That time, Charming had quickly decided they could handle the monster without Emma. This time, Emma didn't pick up.


Snow and Charming were extremely impulsive souls. They got an idea and ran with it, quickly, easily, and usually with no disagreement from anyone on their side. Normally, this served them well: see Henry's storybook. Sometimes, this didn't work so well: see real life in Storybrooke.

The giant in the forest was not listening to reason or anything that David could think of to yell at it, even after Charming had begun insulting the giant and its uncle. Snow hid behind a large tree, watching and wincing whenever the giant's staff got a little too close to her husband's head.

Of course normally, Snow wouldn't be hiding behind a tree. She'd be attacking the giant with all her power. However, she was having to hold a very squirmy and upset two-year-old who probably wouldn't stay still if she put him down. Joining this battle meant leaving Neal behind a tree. That was not an option with this child.

Snow maneuvered around Neal's waving arms and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. She hit a button that Emma had programmed her number to, muttering about incompetent fairy tale characters and rolling her eyes fondly. She bounced in place, waiting for her daughter to pick up.

Normally, Emma picked up the phone immediately with either a bored "what?" or a concerned "what is it?" or that one memorable time with a growl-like sound and a slightly unnerving noise that made Snow pretty sure that Killian was there too. That time, Charming had quickly decided they could handle the monster without Emma. Emma didn't pick up.

"Hi, this is Emma, please leave a message at the beep."

 _Beep_.

"Emma, where are you? We're in the west side of the town, in the forest, and your father is currently fighting a probably losing battle with a giant! Hurry out here now!" Just before hanging up she added a sickly-sweet "please" that Emma wouldn't be able to resist.

She hung up and peeked out from behind the tree to see Charming whacking the giant on the head with its own staff.

She breathed a sigh of relief and joined David at its side. "Is it dead?"

"No," David panted, hands on knees. "Just unconscious. I could kill it now but I think we should have Emma reason with it, as well as she can. Or she can wipe its memory or something, I don't care. Sending it back to where it came from would probably be best."

"She didn't pick up the phone," Snow said, handing Neal to her husband and peering closer at the giant.

"What?" he asked, sounding quite panicked. Neal picked up on his incredibly rapid panic and started whimpering. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know, David, she didn't answer the phone!" Snow said as they both made their way to the truck. "What about the giant?" she called to his back. He was getting in the truck, probably to drive immediately over to Emma's house to see what was wrong. Because clearly he thought something was wrong.

"It'll be fine! Emma might not be!"

Snow could only take her son from her husband as he unlocked the truck and follow him, his panic slowly becoming contagious. By the time they reached the white picket fence house, she was in nearly full-on panic with Charming.

" _What if she's sick? What if she's unconscious somewhere? What if she and Killian had an argument and he ran off to who knows where and she's crying on the couch, feeling abandoned all over again?_ " Show couldn't help thinking as they ran up to the front door of the house. This last one was, admittedly, very far-fetched.

David grabbed his key out of his pocket, thankfully having enough presence of mind to open the door instead of bashing it down. Snow followed him into the house, leaving Neal in the play pen Emma kept in the living room.

To the theme song of whimpering baby, Snow and Charming tried not to run through the house and did actually run through the house, looking for their daughter. "Emma?" Charming finally called.

Snow heard a sigh, a giggle, and a reluctant "in here" from Emma. She quickly opened the closest door, which was the master bedroom. Then all she could do was a wonderful imitation of a fish opening and closing its mouth.

"Is she in there?" Charming demanded. He then lightly pushed his way past his wife and gasped when he took a good look inside.

Emma and Hook were curled up in the bed, Hook's arm around Emma and her head resting on his shoulder, Hook clearly without a shirt and Emma probably wearing only his shirt.

A staring contest between Emma, Killian, and Snow occurred for a few moments, during which Charming hit his head against the wall, his back to the bed, probably going for a memory wipe without a potion.

Finally Killian laughed. "Were you seriously so concerned about your daughter that you broke into our house to check on her?"

Emma hit him on the chest and he stopped laughing. Emma glared at him for a moment and he nodded contritely. Then she turned to Snow and shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest. She probably agreed with her fiancé. Darn, Emma did agree with the pirate. "Tacos payback, Mom."

Charming groaned. "Please tell me my _daughter_ didn't just say that, Snow."

"She did," Snow replied, still rather flabbergasted at the whole situation. Although knowing Emma and her pirate, it was really a wonder this hadn't happened before. They were recently engaged, and not too long ago Emma had been kidnapped by some sort of sorcerer they hadn't been able to incarcerate. Until last week, they'd been separated once more for a whole two weeks. And all of this was after the Underworld debacle. This staying in bed until three in the afternoon to do probably more than proper public displays of affection was natural. And that was where Snow had to stop her brain before it moved onto the possibly imminent grandchildren. She needed to ask Regina for a memory potion. "Charming, let's be off, it's clear that Emma's okay," she said, pulling at her husband.

"Yes please, do allow me to show you out," Hook said, jumping out of bed to usher them away before either of them could stop him. Thankfully, he was still wearing his leather pants.

"No, no, thank you Killian, I think we can manage that," Snow insisted, pushing Charming out of the room before he could murder his soon-to-be son-in-law. Snow saw, just before they left the room, Killian shrug, toss himself back onto the bed, and pull a laughing Emma back to him. Snow couldn't see her daughter's face, but Killian gazed at her adoringly, like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Then Charming pulled her away.

Snow and Charming ran out of the room, scooped up Neal who giggled at the quick appearance of his parents, and left the house as quickly as they could with the baby pulling to get back into the play pen with the little Captain Hook doll David had ordered him. They walked down the driveway in silence.

They didn't speak until they arrived back at the loft.

"Let us never speak of this again," Charming said.

"Agreed," Snow whispered, putting the sleeping Neal in his tiny bed. "I would like to forget the entire day, really." Charming nodded as he fell back onto the couch with a grimace. Snow sat next to him and tried to erase the afternoon from her memory. Then she remembered something. "Charming?"

"Yeah?"

"We left an untied giant in the forest."


End file.
